YAOI AMV: Nice Compilation of Real & Animated BL

~Jennifer LeBlanc

YAOI PRETTY: More Like Bara Pretty!

~Jennifer LeBlanc

NEW RELEASE: Est Em’s Equus Available at Yaoi Club!

Est Em's gorgeous new boys' love title Equus is now available for purchase at Yaoi Club! Since so many people wanted to get a hold of this beauty I asked DMP if they could get some copies for us to purchase and they graciously did. Thank you, DMP! If you are not familiar with this title, I posted a bunch of pictures of the cover and inside contents here (the cover is gorgeous with shiny gold detailing). There aren't many copies so act fast before they sell out. I can't promise they will get more in.

UPDATE: I wasn't kidding! The copies that came in were purchased as I was typing this but I did confirm with Yaoi Club that you can still special order a copy, which takes 2 to 3 weeks to come in. 

~Jennifer LeBlanc

Word of the Day: Bara

"Bara ("rose"), also known as the wasei-eigo construction "Mens' Love" (menzu rabu) or ML, is a Japanese jargon term for a genre of art and fictional media that focuses on male same-sex love and desire, usually created by and for gay men. The bara genre began in the 1960s with fetish magazines featuring gay art and content. Besides bara manga, also called gei comi ("gay comics"), and illustration, a number of bara erotic games exist, as well as novels and memoirs. Bara is mostly a Japanese phenomenon, with limited western exposure through manga scanlations and online homoerotic art communities. While bara faces difficulties finding western publishers, it has been described as "the next big porn wave coming out of Japan."

Bara can vary in visual style and plot, but typically features masculine men with varying degrees of muscle, body fat, and body hair, akin to beefcakes, or bears (kuma) in gay culture. While bara usually features adult content (sometimes violent or exploitative) and gay romanticism, it often has more realistic or autobiographical themes, as it acknowledges the taboo nature of homosexuality in Japan.

Western commentators sometimes refer to bara as "yaoi", but yaoi is largely created by and for women and features idealized bishonen who frequently conform to the heteronormative formula of the dominant and masculine seme and effeminate uke characters. By contrast, bara is considered a subgenre of seijin (men's erotica) for gay males and resembles comics for men (seinen) rather than comics for female readers (shojo/josei)."

SOURCE

~Jennifer LeBlanc

YAOI FUN: Bradley Cooper Gay Scene

Oh yes, kiddies! The hottie from The Hangover did a gay scene back in the day and he's a bottom! (Gotta love those short gym shorts and tall tube socks) The movie was called Wet Hot American Summer and here's what he had to say recently about it:

NEW BL GAME: Omerta ~Chinmoku no Okite~

I noticed a new boys' love game when I got my most recent copy of BeBoy Gold.  It's produced by Karin Entertainment and was released on 4/22/11. The best translation of the game's name that I've seen is Omerta – Law of Silence as the word omerta in the mafia refers to a code of silence. You can find a thorough explanation of the game's premise in English at Ponytale in LaLaParadise. There are lots of wallpapers available for free on the official site. Here are some screenshots of the game:

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YAOI AMV: The Man of Tango by Tetuzoh Okadaya

~Jennifer LeBlanc

Yaoi Pretty: Do You Like My New Rug?

~Jennifer LeBlanc

RightStuf’s Weekly Specials: Yaoi Edition

Word of the Day: Kotatsu

"A kotatsu is a low, wooden table frame covered by a futon, or heavy blanket, upon which a table top sits. Underneath is a heat source, often built into the table itself. Kotatsu are used almost exclusively in Japan, although similar devices are used elsewhere.

Types

There are two kinds of kotatsu used in Japan today, differing in the configuration and the type of heating:

Electric: The modern style of kotatsu consists of a table with an electric heater attached to the underside of the table. This evolved from a clay pot with hot coals placed under a table. The kotatsu is usually set on a thin futon, like a throw rug. A second, thicker futon is placed over the kotatsu table, above which the tabletop is placed. The electric heater attached to the underside of the table heats the space under the comforter.